Nova Scotia family reunited with sister after 50 years by chance
Machelle Hubley, given up as an infant, lived nearby for 30 years, unknown to family
A family in the Annapolis Valley celebrated a joyful Christmas after a chance encounter brought about a reunion with a long-lost sibling.
In November Coral Rafuse, 42, was at work at the New Minas Children's Centre, and went out to pay a bill for bread at the bakery across the street.
Inside the Flower Cart, a business which employs adults with intellectual disabilities, Rafuse saw a wall lined with photos of long-time employees.
One of those photos bore a striking resemblance to Rafuse's own mother — and the surname matched that of her mother's first husband.
Rafuse went back to work and phoned her sister, Candace Bird, 44, to tell her that she thought she'd found their eldest sister, Machelle Hubley, 51. Together Rafuse and Bird told their mother about the discovery.
Her mother went quiet when she heard the news, Rafuse said.
"She said it had to be her," Rafuse said. "She was just happy to know [Hubley] was alive. It gave her such a sense of peace."
'Sister, aunt, daughter and granddaughter'
Nearly 50 years ago, their mother was unable to meet the demands posed by her infant daughter's physical and intellectual challenges and gave her up for adoption.
The little girl became a ward of the province and moved between several foster homes.
The family never looked for her because they thought she had been adopted and possibly taken out of province, Rafuse said.
But it turns out Hubley has been living at a L'Arche Homefires residence in Greenwich, N.S., for more than 30 years — only kilometres from her two sisters.
Unlike other members at the home, Hubley never had a family to visit at Christmas, but all those missed celebrations haven't diminished the joy she's felt since the reunion.
"She's just so happy to be a sister, aunt, daughter and granddaughter," Rafuse said.
'She's not losing us'
The timing of the reunion couldn't be better, Rafuse said. She and Bird lost their father a couple of years ago — and their mother nearly died last year. Hubley's discovery brings joy to a recently tragic time.
"To have Machelle be so happy and joyful, it's taken that pain and made it into something so happy," Rafuse said.
Even though the reunion with Hubley has been a long time in the making, it's a gift that will endure for years to come, Rafuse said.
"She's found her family," she said. "She's not losing us."